Texas Supreme Court adopts new appellate rules for direct appeals to the Court.

On December 20, 2021, the Texas Supreme Court adopted (Misc. Docket No. 21-9155) new rules clarifying the procedure for taking a direct appeal to the Court. Ordinarily, direct appeals are to one of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals throughout Texas. However, in very limited cases, direct appeals may be taken directly to the Supreme Court. See Tex. Gov't Code 22.001(c) ("An appeal may be taken directly to the supreme court from an order of a trial court granting or denying an interlocutory or permanent injunction on the ground of the constitutionality of a statute of this state.").

The rules generally track the procedure for filing a direct appeal in the courts of appeals, with the exception that the notice of appeal must be forwarded by the trial court clerk to the Supreme Court of Texas. Furthermore, the rules require an early assessment of the Supreme Court's probable jurisdiction by mandating a jurisdictional statement filed by the appellant within 10 days of the notice of appeal, and the potential for a response in opposition with 10 days of the appellant's statement.